LA City Hall Proposes Ban on “Volatile” Concentrate Production

After the voters in California came out to support completely legalizing cannabis for adults in November, there has been a negotiation in process on how to implement this law. For the cannabis industry, there have been a variety of battles to fight for the right to conduct business.

The next fight on the docket is a Los Angeles City Hall proposal to outlaw “volatile cannabis manufacturing” in the area. Last month, you may remember, City Council president Herb Wesson released a draft of the proposed requirements for cannabis businesses. One of these such rules is disallowing concentrate production. The council’s argument is that the manufacturing of cannabis concentrates is to dangerous to be allowed in town.

The problem with this logic, as most avid concentrate consumers know, this production is not dangerous when performed by professionals. The industry has come a long way from being supported by the average stoner using butane in an open room to create wax. These days, manufacturing facilities used closed-loop systems that are exponentially safer, but also far more effective at removing all the solvents from the final products.

Experts say professional laboratories producing concentrates for California dispensaries are often much safer than the amateur operations that end up in the news. Herzberg as well as David Sparer, CEO of Bay Area–based Refined Hydrocarbon Solutions, a maker of solvents for marijuana-extract producers, say operations with well-ventilated, “closed-loop systems” are on a different level when it comes to safety. Herzberg said they’re permitted in Oregon, Washington, Colorado and Nevada. “Regulated, closed-loop system, volatile cannabis manufacturing is the industry standard, safely used by licensed operators by the cities surrounding Los Angeles,” according to his paper.

The City’s proposal is also shortsighted from an economic perspective. The market for concentrates is large, to say the least, with estimates being as high as 30% of the legal marijuana market in CA according to industry expert Chris Walsh of Marijuana Business Daily. Limiting the ability for this huge market to flourish effectively is a loss of revenue for the city in the form of taxes levied.

At the end of the day, there is no logical reason to ban the production of cannabis concentrates. The only argument is made from a position of ignorance and unwillingness to learn the mechanics of the process. This is purely a political move to placate groups operating on unfounded hysteria about dabs.

To learn more about cannabis concentrates, go check out our guide that answers the question, “What Are Dabs?”